FEMA is giving Utah funds for '05 wildfire

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Mar 30, 2007

Utah will receive nearly $308,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help reimburse the state for fighting a wildfire that destroyed more than 12,000 acres in Washington County in 2005, the federal agency announced this week.

The 12,280-acre Blue Springs Fire, one of several started by lightning that summer, threatened more than 600 homes in and around New Harmony, located about 30 miles northeast of St. George. Residents were evacuated as the fire spread within a few yards of several homes in the rural community.

Nearly 750 firefighters, 52 fire engines, six helicopters, five air tankers and six single-engine aircraft were used to battle the flames.

The cost of the fire reached nearly $2 million, officials said at the time.